Rules From Fresh Air? Can they do this?

I have recently arrived at a new school with a very good set of terms and conditions all thrashed out after much negotiation by e-mail and telephone. The school is a reputable place with an upmarket clientele. I have been installed in a very nice apartment on the school campus. The school is new and clean and the staff so far have been friendly and most helpful. There is an establishment for four foreign teachers, three of us are now here and the fourth has yet to arrive.

Due to a visa confusion at my previous school caused by it not knowing the new procedure, I arrived here with an 'L'Visa and had to fly out with a Letter of Invitation and an Alien Registration Certificate and get a new 'Z'-Visa in Hong Kong. This was done last week

The new 'Z' Visa has no expiry date and I understand the school now has to obtain my Foreign Expert Certificate - which they tried to do but were turned away because of some official confusion between two departments. My 'L'Visa was not cancelled and expires on August 20th - but is probably superceded by the new 'z' Visa. I do not have a Foreign Expert's Certificate at this time.

The school has now applied a curfew to foreign teachers. It is verbally set at 9.00pm by the Principal though there is some talk that he will agree to it being 10.30pm. This is not acceptable and in a meeting with him recently he lost his tremper and told us all to accept it or leave the school.

In my case I dealt with this business of curfew in my negotiations with the school representative and was told in an e-mail that the problem was not really serious and would be resolved by the time I commenced work. In reality it has not been resolved and I now find myself a virtual prisoner in the campus unable to go out for dinner or a show because of an unreasonable curfew which is not provided for in either the English Contract I signed, nor the Chinese Contract issued by the State Adiminstration of Foreign Experts Affairs.

I wish to leave the school if this curfew is not lifted or made far more reasonable in its timing. The reason stated (verbally) for the curfew is that the school is concerned for our safety - yet by locking us out should we return later than the curfew time, it is in fact putting us at greater danger.

Can anyone advise what my practical rights are here? As the school has not yet obtained the FEC can I simply move from one school to another or do I need a Letter of Release from the present school. Or is there any way in which the school can be required to lift the curfew. Is the school in breach of contract in not making me aware of the curfew before I arrived or for trying to change or add contract terms without due negotiation and approval? - for had I been told of it I would NOT have accepted their e-mail offer

John